A Musically Rewarding Fortnight

What a wonderful and musical two weeks it had been! On November 10th, Charles Richard-Hamelin walked onto the stage of the Vancouver Playhouse, two years after his debut there, and shared with us his incredible musicality and mature artistry. His performance of works by Schumann and Chopin was one that we will not soon forget. Charles graciously granted the enthusiastic audience two encores - Bach/Cortot's Arioso from the Concerto in F minor, and Chopin's Nocturne in C-sharp minor (Op. posth). At a special post-concert reception hosted by Vancouver's Polish Consul, we also celebrated the 100th Anniversary of Poland’s Regained independence. 

Exactly a week later, we welcomed back Russian keyboard sensation Nikolay Khozyainov, who made such an impression with us a few years back, that we were happy to have been able to present him again. This time, Nikolay gave us a beautifully varied programme of Chopin, Debussy, and Stravinsky. His playing, especially in his four encores of Liszt’s Grand Galop Chromatique, Satie’s Gymnopédie No. 1, as well as operatic fantasies on themes from Carmen and Marriage of Figaro, conjured up memories of the great virtuosi of the 19th century. At the end of it all, the audience was still on its feet clamoring for more!

Welcome back to Vancouver, Charles and Nikolay. We were so happy to have you back again.

A Awards of Recognition

Before Charles Richard-Hamelin's recital on November 10th, the Polish Government recognized certain individuals for their services to Polish culture.

Lee Kum-Sing, distinguished pedagogue, musician, and Artistic Director of The Vancouver Chopin Society, as well as three board members - Henry Ewert, Vince Cardella and Jason Ng - were granted Awards of Recognition for their dedication toward The Vancouver Chopin Society, many years of tireless volunteer efforts, and major commitment in promoting the music of Chopin.

Graham Blank, Vice President, and Aida Liang, Marketing Services Manager, both of Tom Lee Music, were granted Awards of Recognition by the Polish Government for their unwavering support of The Vancouver Chopin Society in their promotion of the music of Chopin.

Many congratulations to you all, and thank you for all you have done for the arts and for music.

Upcoming concerts

Pianist Lukas Vondracek, winner of the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition, will make his Vancouver debut on February 3, 2019. Vondracek stunned both the judges and audiences with his incredible pianism, and has been making musical headlines the world over.

Following upon last season’s fruitful collaboration with Early Music Vancouver, we jointly present, in two special concerts(Feb 22 and 23), period keyboard specialist Tobias Koch, who will also be making his first appearance in Vancouver.

For his Vancouver appearance, Koch will present two different programmes. The first recital will be a recreation of Chopin’s recital in Edinburgh on October 4, 1848. Just as Chopin did in 1848, Tobias Koch will also be performing on a beautifully- restored 1852 Broadwood grand piano in Vancouver. For his second recital, Koch will present a recital of Polish Romantic music

Farewell to Sikora's

As many of you know, Sikora's Classical Records will be closing its door after 40 years in Vancouver. At the Lukáš Vondrá?ek recital on February 3rd, 2019 (3:00 p.m.), we will have a special ceremony to thank and to acknowledge our friends Ed and Roger for their service to Vancouver music lovers, and for their support of The Vancouver Chopin Society. Do stay tune for more details!

A Biographical Masterpiece

Musicologist and music historian Alan Walker, well known for his studies on Liszt, has given us one of the finest English language biographies of Chopin. Walker devoted ten years of his life to writing this book, and the result is an absolutely outstanding addition to Chopin scholarship. Certainly this is one of the most thorough and detailed examination of the life of Chopin we have encountered.

How fitting it is that on this, the 100th Anniversary of Poland’s Regained independence, to have such a masterful biography of a composer whose music has come to embody the spirit of Poland.

Alan Walker’s Fryderyk Chopin – A Life and Times, is published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (New York), can be purchased in bookstores or online. You can read a detailed reviews of this wonderful new book in The New York Times, The Guardian and my blog. Scroll down to the bottom to find the links.

If you are a lover of the music of Chopin, a pianist who loves to play Chopin, or if you have a love for 19thcentury music or history, run out to your nearest bookstore and buy this book. Read it; study it. I promise that your efforts will be richly rewarded.

The 2018-2019 season

If you have enjoyed our two concerts this month, remember that we still have four outstanding artists performing for us in 2019 – Lukáš Vondrácek, Tobias Koch (a collaboration with Early Music Vancouver), Nelson Goerner, and Kate Liu. Subscriptions for our 2018-19 season are still available. For information on these upcoming concerts, or to purchase tickets, please visit our society website www.chopinsociety.org. Tickets can also be purchased through the Chan Centre Box Office: 604-822-2697.

Once again, we thank all those who joined us for our opening concerts this month, and we look forward to seeing you all again at the 2019 recitals.

Giving Tuesday

GivingTuesday is coming to Canada on November 27, 2018. It is a Canadian movement for giving and volunteering, taking place each year after Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Our branded donation page is handled by CanadaHelps including automatic tax-receipting.

Recently, we received a very generous donation of shares from one of our supporters. In addition, a subscriber named The Vancouver Chopin Society as one of the beneficiaries of his will, through a fund established through The Vancouver Foundation. We thank them for their generosity.
The Vancouver Chopin Society is operated entirely by the dedicated members of our board of directors. If you like what we do, please consider making a donation to us. Your gift will enable us to continue to present great performers of great music to our community.

Yundi Li in concert

Pianist Yundi (Li), winner of the 2010 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, will conduct and play both Chopin concerti with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 28th, at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. VISM Event is offering our members a 10% discount for the concert. Those interested can visit this link and use the special promo code: VISMGOLD.

Notice of the Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Vancouver Chopin Society will be held on Thursday, Nov 29 at 12:00 pm in room 22A at the Vancouver Academy of Music, 1270 Chestnut Street, Vancouver, B.C.
Coffee and light snacks will be provided.